Tag Archives: Climate

Four days to go – every action, tweet and conversation before polling day matters

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The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. today (Monday, 6th of January) published the Draft General Scheme of the Climate Action (Amendment) Bill 2019 and confirmed that it is priority legislation for the Government in the new Dáil term.

The Climate Action Plan, published earlier this year, is the Government’s plan to ensure we radically reduce our emissions in every sector to ensure we meet our future climate commitments, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero by 2050.

Minister Bruton said: “Governance and accountability are at the heart of the Climate Action Plan. We are putting in place the legislative underpinning to ensure the radical step up required is delivered.” The Bill aims to enshrine in law the approach outlined in the Climate Action Plan, including:

Establishing a 2050 emissions reduction target in law

Making the adoption of carbon budgets a legal requirement

Strengthening the role of the Climate Action Council in recommending the appropriate climate budget and policies

Requiring the Government to set a decarbonisation target range for each sector. The Minister with primary responsibility for each sector will be accountable for delivering the relevant actions to meet the sectoral target and for reporting annually on the delivery of their actions and the achievement of sectoral emission targets

Giving the Oireachtas a central role in the setting of the carbon budget and overseeing progress to delivery

Banning the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030

Establishing that the Climate Action Plan shall be updated annually, with actions in every sector

Minister Bruton said,

Minister Bruton said: “We must act now and leave a better, healthier, more sustainable Ireland for future generations. Accountability is the key to making progress. We have a very short time to act. We must put in place a strong framework to ensure every sector, every policy, every decision delivers on the transformation that is required. Today represents a hugely important step in putting in place the necessary arrangements to achieve this objective.”

Climate Action Council: The 2019 Climate Action Plan commits to establish the Climate Action Council (the Council), which will replace the existing Climate Change Advisory Council. The Plan also describes additional powers which the successor Council will possess, in addition to the existing powers set out under sections 11, 12 and 13 of the 2015 Act.

Head 6 makes provision for the name change while head 7 introduces amendments to effect the following:

Inclusion of a fifth ex-officio ordinary member of the Climate Action Council – the Director of the Irish National Meteorological Service, Met Éireann

A requirement that in so far as is practicable there will be gender balance on the Council

That all Council members including the Chairperson will serve a maximum of two terms

That the Council will benefit from the capacity to retain expertise over time by members serving staggered terms of office

The Climate Action Council will establish an advisory committee in relation to climate adaptation

Head 8 provides that the Climate Action
Council will be given new functions to provide recommendations to the
Minister on the development and adoption of a series of appropriate
economy wide carbon budgets
(each covering a five year period) as per the requirements of the
Climate Action Plan.

Heads 9 and 10 provide for updating and streamlining the performance review responsibilities of the Council with regard to its new function on carbon budgets while also updating requirements for a periodic review.

Carbon Budgets

The Climate Action Plan 2019 indicates that the Bill will introduce the adoption of carbon budgets as a legal requirement. In this regard, the draft General Scheme outlines that the Government will adopt a system of carbon budgets as part of a grouping of three five-year periods calculated on an economy-wide basis, starting with the periods 2021 to 2025, 2026 to 2030, and 2031 to 2035.

Head 12 which deals with the setting of carbon budgets, provides that the Climate Action Council is to advise the Minister on the appropriate three five-year carbon budgets and, based on this advice, the Minister will prepare three five-year carbon budgets for Government approval. These will include the recommended carbon budget permitted in each five-year carbon budget period and a decarbonisation range for each relevant sector for the five-year period within the ceiling of the proposed carbon budgets.

The head further provides that once adopted, the Minister shall propose a motion in the Oireachtas to consider the carbon budget. If the Government’s proposed carbon budget is rejected, then the Minister shall present an alternative budget (approved by Government) within a specified time period taking account of any recommendations made by the Oireachtas.

Long-term target

Work is continuing to finalise the government’s Long Term Climate Strategy to 2050. A public consultation on the Strategy closed on 31st December and the submissions received are now being reviewed. The long term strategy will set our 2050 climate target, which will then inform the legal provision to be drafted for inclusion in the Climate Action (Amendment) Bill 2019. The Government has already backed the adoption of a net zero target at EU level and will continue to support this level of ambition going forward.

Banning the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030

A draft Head is being developed in consultation with the relevant Government Departments to address the commitment in the National Development Plan and Climate Action Plan to introduce legislation to ban the registration of new fossil fuel cars from 2030 and to stop the granting of NCTs from 2045 (Head 16 is acting as a placeholder). In effect, from 2030 it will not be possible to register any new car which runs on fossil fuel. This will be developed further in consultation with the relevant Departments concerned and will be submitted to Government for approval in the New Year.

The outcome for 2018 as reported by the EPA reinforces the importance of implementing the Climate Action Plan. Ireland has drifted off target and we must implement a decisive policy shift each year, every year. The 2020 Budget has been an important watershed.

Earlier this year, the government published the Climate Action Plan, which sets out the actions we need to take to ensure we meet our 2030 climate commitments, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero by 2050. I welcome the EPA’s support today for our Plan, which is our roadmap forward, to decarbonise and secure a sustainable, more resilient Ireland for future generations.

While the EPA’s statement today shows that emissions have fallen for a second year in a row, the decrease is too small and driven by temporary occurrences – primarily the temporary closure of Moneypoint. We still saw an increase in emissions from households, transport, and agriculture last year.

The figures released today reflect the position prior to the publication of the Climate Action Plan. I note the EPA’s comments today calling for the swift implementation of the Plan. This is our pathway forward and today’s results underline the urgency of implementing the actions in the Plan across government. We have a brief opportunity to act and we must act now. The government is determined to deliver.

The Climate Action Plan is the government’s plan to ensure Ireland reaches our 2030 climate targets, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero emissions by 2050. The far-reaching plan sets out over 180 actions, together with hundreds of sub-actions across every sector of society. Under the plan, we will deliver by 2030:

5 Times the amount of renewables connected to the grid

Full exit from coal and peat for electricity generation

10 Times Retrofit Activity

25 Times Current Electric Vehicle Uptake

5 Times Sustainable Energy Communities

500,000 Extra daily active / public commutes

440 Million Extra Trees by 2040

Key Actions in the Climate Action Plan include:

Eliminate non-recyclable plastic and impose higher fees on the production of materials which are difficult to recycle, implement measures to ban single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds

Establish a new Microgeneration Scheme, allowing homeowners to generate their own electricity and sell what they don’t use back to the national grid

Move to 70% renewable electricity by 2030, currently only 30% of our electricity comes from renewable sources

Establish a system of 5 year carbon budgets and sector targets, with the relevant Minister responsible for delivering on the target, with penalties if they are not met. These targets will be underpinned by a new Climate Action Act. All major government investments and decisions will be carbon-proofed

Deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture by creating new, sustainable opportunities for family farms

Deliver a new Retrofit Plan to retrofit 500,000 homes, with large groups of houses being retrofitted by the same contractor to reduce costs, smart finance, and easy pay back methods

Every public body will be given a climate action mandate by their line Minister to prioritise climate action and new letters of expectation will issue to semi-state bodies on Climate Action.

Major Health Bodies support call for Active Travel to be an integral
part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan

The Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, Diabetes Ireland, Irish Doctors for the Environment, the Association of Health Promotion Ireland, Professor Donal O’Shea (National Clinical Lead for Obesity and Hon. President of Cyclist.ie), and the Irish Pedestrian Network have signed an open letter from Cyclist.ie to the Taoiseach asking for concrete measures to facilitate active travel to form an integral part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan.

The Department of Transport’s walking and cycling budget is increasing this year, but planned expenditure comes nowhere near the 10% level demanded by Cyclist.ie for cycling in its Pre-Budget Submission 2019 and endorsed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA). The ground-breaking report by the JOCCA makes a very strong case for active travel with the statement – “active travel measures are also among the most cost-effective emissions reduction strategies”. Our particular focus is how this needs to happen on health grounds. There is overwhelming evidence that lack of physical activity is a contributory cause in a host of debilitating chronic illnesses, including heart-disease, stroke, some cancers and diabetes. Hence the endorsement of the letter by all of the above health bodies. The forthcoming Climate Action Plan presents an opportunity to set targets for active travel which will contribute to reducing emissions and promoting health.

The recent IPCC report clearly spells out the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To minimise environmental damage and fines arising from the failure to meet Ireland’s climate change targets, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport must adopt much more ambitious climate actions than currently outlined

In Ireland’s draft EU mandated National Energy and Climate Plan there’s a failure to acknowledge the contribution that cycling can make in this regard.

Politicians and the
public are paying attention to climate change like never before. We
have the opportunity to make 2019 the year Ireland finally takes
climate action seriously.

A special all-party
Oireachtas committee is considering the far-reaching but practical
recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly and will report at the
end of January. The new minister, Richard Bruton, is promising a new
all-of-Government climate action plan, modelled on the Action Plan
for Jobs, that will lead to “a revolution in how we live”.
So what should be in it?

A Just Transition
Task Force

We have known for 20
years we have to stop burning coal and peat for electricity. We need
a Just Transition Task Force now, with representatives from the
unions, the ESB and Bord Na Móna, all the State agencies, NGOs like
Irish Rural Link and local community development representatives. It
needs the resources and authority to support affected workers, and
their families and communities, to find new jobs and plan for a
sustainable future for their region.

Moneypoint is closed
now and has been for months, due to a fault. The lights are still on,
proving we don’t need to burn coal even during peak winter demand.
Serious consideration should be given to leaving Moneypoint offline.
Coal provided just 12pc of our electricity in 2017 but more than 25pc
of our climate pollution from electricity.

Peat is even worse,
providing just 7pc of our electricity but producing 20pc of our
pollution. We’ve been subsidising it to the tune of more than €100m
a year. That direct subsidy ends in 2019, but Bord na Móna wants to
keep burning peat for another 10 years, by co-firing its power plants
with wood. We should wstop burning peat in 2020 and use the subsidies
we save to support the affected workers and communities.

A payment for
small-scale solar generation

Every school should
have solar panels on their roofs, generating electricity and income.
So should parish halls, sports clubs and farm buildings. It’s
happening across Europe but doesn’t happen here because you have to
give away power you don’t use to the ESB for free. Ireland does
community-scale well, from Tidy Towns to GAA. We know there’s huge
enthusiasm for community energy. We need to unlock that potential
with a rooftop revolution that puts citizens at the heart of the
energy transition.

An SSIA scheme for
insulation, and a Tipperary Energy Agency for every county

We need to upgrade
at least 100,000 homes a year between now and 2030. Houesholders are
going to have to invest themselves, but the State has to make it
attractive and simple. Something like the old SSIA scheme, for every
€4 you invest in retrofitting your home, the State gives you €1.

But it’s not just a
financial challenge, householders also need project management
support to figure out what they need to get done and what contractor
to trust to do it and at what price. The Tipperary Energy Agency has
built up an unrivalled capability and reputation for doing that well
in a way that appeals to people. We need to scale up the same
capacity in every county in Ireland.

Transport is the
area our pollution has risen fastest. We should implement the very
simple Citizens’ Assembly recommendation that one-third of the
transport budget should go on roads and two-thirds should go on
public transport, cycling and walking, reversing the current ratio.
We should implement the UN recommendation that 20pc of the budget
should go on cycling and walking (less than 2pc does now), as that
also tackles obesity and promotes healthy lifestyles.

These are two simple
but essential policy tools we lack. The new climate and energy plan
should come with two five-year carbon budgets, voted on by the Dáil.
That’s simply the total amount of pollution Ireland will emit from
2021-2025 and 2026-2030.

Departments then
negotiate within that for their share of the pie, just like the
fiscal budget. At the moment there’s nothing to translate national
targets into departmental discipline. Moreover, no Government policy
that might affect our emissions should be adopted by Cabinet in the
dark. It should run the numbers and estimate how much emissions will
go up or down. That assessment should be in front of Cabinet when it
makes the decision, and it should be published when it announces it.

A cheque in the post

We are going to need
to increase the price on carbon, in line with the polluter pays
principle. It will give a steady signal that every time we have a
choice, choosing the less polluting option will save us money, as
will investing in energy saving.

There are a number
of ways to do carbon tax, but in an era when trust in politicians is
low I favour the simplest, most transparent model, called “tax
and dividend”, where 100pc of the tax revenue is given straight
back as an equal flat lump sum to every man, woman and child in
Ireland.

On average, poorer
households spend less than richer households on polluting goods so
the tax is a cash transfer from rich to poor. We all still face a
price signal, polluting products get more and more expensive, but as
we make the transition we protect those most vulnerable and those for
whom less polluting choices are not readily available. So, in Budget
2020 the Dáil should vote for a €20 increase in the carbon tax and
for a €5 increase every year after that. On January 1, 2020, we
should all get our first carbon dividend cheque.

In Al Gore’s film
‘An Inconvenient Truth’, he worried we would go from denial to
despair without stopping in the middle for action. That is the choice
we face right now. But it’s an easy choice: who wouldn’t want a
warmer home with lower bills, better public transport and healthier
lifestyles, and a chance for your community to own the energy that
will power the future? Oh, plus a decent shot at containing climate
change enough to protect that future.

Let’s make 2019 the
year we finally step up, and set off on a safer, healthier path.

Oisín Coghlan is
director of Friends of the Earth, a member of the Stop Climate Chaos
Coalition

Cyclist.ie, a member of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition since 2016, will be participating on the day offering cycling as a real solution to transport climate pollution reduction through the #Allocate4Cycling campaign.

Transport accounts for 20% of overall emissions (and of this 52% comes from private cars)

Investing in cycling provides excellent value for money

Cycle trips don’t generate air or noise pollution

Cycling is an affordable mobility option for all

Sounds great! But what should I talk to them about?

All you need to do is share your real concerns about climate change with your TDs. Tell them that as your elected representative, they and their party should do more to reduce Ireland’s emissions, and that we can’t go on being one of the worst polluters per person in Europe.

We took part in similar SCC hosted events previously and those who have participated have found them empowering. Plus, we know that TDs are impacted by meeting groups of their own constituents who care passionately about an issue. A few years ago, running a similar kind of lobby day secured the climate law. Now, we need an action plan that actually cuts greenhouse gas emissions.

Transport accounts for 20% of Ireland’s overall emissions (and 27% of our non-ETS emissions), with 52% of overall transport emissions coming from private cars, 24% from freight, and 4% from public transport.

Project Ireland 2040: Investing in the Transition to a Low-Carbon and Climate-Resilient Society

Decarbonising Ireland’s transport sector needs to become an urgent priority for Government, and agencies such as the NTA. Transport is the only sector to have increased its share of emissions since 1990. In fact, emissions have doubled since 1990 to one fifth of Ireland’s total. Actual total transport emissions rose 4% in 2015 and are continuing to rise quickly.

The Environmental Protection Agency expects a 13% increase in national GHG emissions from transport between 2016 and 2035.

As noted by Ireland’s ​ Climate Change Advisory Council​ , progress in tackling transport emissions has been very limited.

Most especially for transport, Ireland’s ratification of the Paris Agreement equates to a limited fossil fuel budget, including oil and gas. That means an overriding imperative to reduce the petrol and diesel use every year no matter what.

It is notable that the ​ Department’s priorities​ fail to mention climate change or emission reductions. The only reference in the Department’s annual report is a mention of the National Mitigation Plan, which suggests that insufficient regard has been taken to the urgency of what is required in this sector. The Minister should fully support a roadmap for the decarbonisation of the transport sector, specifying annual emissions reductions and how these will be achieved.

How is the Department contributing to the targets set by the​ National Policy Position​ ? By 2050 the long term vision was to see an aggregate reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of at least 80% (compared to 1990 levels) across the electricity generation, built environment and transport sectors.

Failure of the Government to reach targets set for ​ Smarter Travel​ and ​ cycling​ policies to achieve emissions savings. Why are they not being implemented

The EPA’s projections, published today (here), reveal the colossal scale of Ireland’s collective political failure to rein in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with our legally binding EU and global commitments.

It is quite staggering to consider that instead of achieving the modest initial target of reducing our national GHG emissions by 20% versus 2005 levels, the EPA today confirms that “at best”, we will have only managed a negligible 1% emissions cut by 2020.

In terms of our performance on tackling the dangerous and rapidly escalating threats posed by climate change, Ireland has moved from being an outlier to, essentially, a rogue state on the international stage.